Featured Artist: Jimi Sue Lawerence“I’m a simple person, kinda quirky. You have to take time to get to know me to really know me.”

Jimi Sue Lawrence’s art work is a fun way to glimpse her quirky side and her talents. She enjoys a variety of media to express her eclectic interests and personality: glass etching, sandblasting, card making, crocheting, wood working, cross stitching, and sign painting. Jimi is the featured artist for the 2018 Community Arts Show, produced and sponsored by the Chewelah Arts Guild.

Jimi Sue says her main inspiration is to teach others art making and to learn from others as well. Her love for creating art radiates from within into the breadth of ideas and forms she takes on. She and her sister, Wendy, influenced and mentored each other early on, getting ideas from pictures, making a plan and moving along from there. When pushed to claim a favorite among all her media, Jimi says she really enjoys working with gourds, “because it’s like working with wood and you can carve, wood burn, paint, stain, and it’s fun to teach others.”

Jimi Sue is a member of the Washington Gourd Society. She attends meetings in Spokane and members create collaborative projects, like the Heart-themed 3-paneled Quilt shown at last year’s Community Arts Show and on Memorial Day weekend at the annual Quilt Show.

Jimi was born in Long Beach, California and arrived in this area of the northwest, settling in Springdale with her husband and three daughters in 1996. When asked how she balances creative projects with the requirements of family life and all the necessary tasks of daily living, and how these influence each other, Jimi Sue answers, “creating a balance…sometimes I surprise myself. It’s nice to get my work done first and then play. It doesn’t always work out that way, so I do what I can when I can.” Jimi says she realized she is an artist, when she started selling her work years ago. When asked what makes creating art one of her main passions, she answered “it makes me happy and that people enjoy my art as well.”